VNA 14/11/2011
- A high-ranking Vietnamese delegation has attended activities of the
19th APEC Leaders’ Week, reflecting the country’s unceasing increase of
strength and power after 25 years of renewal, said Foreign Minister Pham
Binh Minh.

Minh said that implementing the proactive and comprehensive
international integration policy of the 11th National Party Congress of
Vietnam has made practical contributions to enhancing APEC economic
links, and also contributed to negotiations for the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement.

The FM said Vietnam has played an
active role in the APEC Leaders’ Week through discussions and
contributions to documents to boost consensus on major cooperative
issues, especially the Bogo trade target, implementing APEC’s new
strategies on economic restructuring, enhancing connectivity and
expanding trade, as well as coping with natural disasters and improving
energy security.

At the APEC Leaders Meeting and dialogues with
businesses, the Vietnamese State President affirmed that Vietnam’s
development is always attached to that of Asia-Pacific and APEC.

APEC
economies and businesses highlighted and supported Vietnam’s
determination to pursue renewal and its efforts to stabilise the
macro-economy, conduct economic restructuring, curb inflation and create
favourable conditions for foreign companies to invest and conduct
business in Vietnam, Minh said.

He said Vietnam proposed a number
of specific measures to boost APEC cooperation and connectivity,
including efforts to narrow the development gap, support sub-regional
cooperation programmes, poverty reduction and Mekong sub-regional
cooperation projects.

APEC members praised Vietnam’s proposals
to enhance APEC contributions to international efforts on the United
Nations Green Economy Initiative.

The meeting’s documents
acknowledged Vietnam’s proposals on the need to pay proper attention to
the diversity, development level and different legal systems of its
members in implementing cooperative programmes, Minh said.

The
meeting also applauded Vietnam’s selection as host of the sixth APEC
Human Resources Development Ministerial Conference in 2014.

During
the 19th APEC Leaders Week, the President and his entourage held
bilateral meetings with a number of Heads of State and leaders of APEC
economies, including the US President and Secretary of State, the
Chinese, Russian, Chilean, and Peruvian presidents and the Australian
Prime Minister. In particular, this was the first time 11 leaders of the
Southern Pacific states were received by the Vietnamese President.

All
partners voiced their support for Vietnam’s renewal policy and broader
international integration, affirmed their efforts to promote bilateral
cooperation and friendship and agreed to deepen the partnership in
various fields.

At the meetings, leaders and countries agreed on
measures to bolster bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and regional
key partners, especially in economics, trade and coordination in
international and regional issues of mutual concern and within the
framework of APEC and other multilateral forums.

On this
occasion, Vietnam signed a free trade agreement with Chile, marking a
new period in the two countries’ relations and also signed an agreement
on cooperation and mutual assistance between customs agencies with Peru.

The
efforts of the Vietnamese delegation at the 19th APEC Leaders’ Week
have contributed to the success of the week, raised the country’s
international position and deepened the country’s relations with
regional partners, Minh said./.